Reijuu Kyuketsu
"Some may find my methods 'dishonorable', and I don't blame them. But when all is said and done, the opinions and mindset of a dead man count for very little, no?" - Kyuketsu Reijuu Kyuketsu is a Shinigami, Third Seat of the Eleventh Division. Story Save for recent data gathered by the Shinoreijutsuin upon his entrance, very little is know about the origins of Reijuu Kyuketsu. While he chooses to refrain from explicitly stating his exact lineage, those close to him are given a glimpse of what his life was before entering the Gotei. It is suspected, though not confirmed, that he took on a different name before using his current one. What prompted this change, nobody knows but him. He claims to have hailed from the 79th District of Kusajishi before entering a ‘pilgrimage’ in its neighboring region, Zaraki. One hundred years passed, the swordsman returned to civilization bearing a new name and an even sharper blade. Almost immediately upon arrival, he enlisted himself to become a soldier for the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Appearance Near cadaverous in likeness, his visage is a pale comparison to those around him. Light blue hair, which are almost completely white in the darkness, fall gracefully down along from his head to shoulders. His face, though angelic in the eyes of others, hide away the inner turmoil that bask in the deepest cores of his subconsciousness. The sole windows to this hidden paradox lie on the orbs that rest somberly over his mask; a pair of deep blue eyes that scintillate a false clarity of past regrets. Riddled across his body are the scars and bruises of his life as a warrior of the Serietei. Personality Stoically calm, yet cynical to some extent, Kyuketsu is the epithet of an idealist— one of few words, though decidedly obsessed in what he desires most in the cosmos: perfection. The man’s methods of operating may be questionable at times, though ultimately, his decisions lead up to what he deems to be the most suitable and favorable of outcome for all. Philosophical to a great extent, he finds great pleasure in probing into other people’s minds, determining their psychology through their actions and behavior. The fact itself may seem intrusive, and yet that trait alone has managed to save his life a countless dozens times in the past. Though not quite antisocial, Kyuketsu is also far from affable. And while the man normally keeps his thoughts to himself, those who have earned both his everlasting respect and admiration are gifted to see the shinigami open up his feelings and emotions. Zanpakutou Sealed Form Shaped as a regular katana, it sports a glossy black scabbard embellished with a silver band around its opening. The guard is of an elliptical shape, hued in lustrous gray. His zanpakutou’s hilt is wrapped in a firm, midnight black cord while the bottom of its buttcap dons an intricately carved dragon’s head. Zanpakutou Spirit No gender, no face, no nothing. All it requires is but a name, and as Zansatsu is materialized in full shape and form, its being rises up from the murky waters of Kyuketsu’s inner world and takes the shape of a vast angel-like silhouette with horns. Standing 10 feet tall, the shadow itself is pitch-black, and like the physical appearance of the sword, a deep purple outline surrounds the silhouette’s entirety. Like Kyuketsu, Zansatsu prefers to keep words to a minimum unless otherwise needed to. Although when it does indeed speak, the winged creature talks in a deep, almost demandingly authoritative tone of voice. Shikai: Zansatsu :Release Phrase: "Scream, Zansatsu." : Appearance: Upon uttering the command phrase “Scream,” the sword is immediately bathed in a purple blanket of reiatsu. Its overall appearance remains the same, albeit growing longer from just a simple katana to that of a full blown nodachi, if not a tad bit longer. The entirety of the sword’s blade is now bathed in an abysmal shade of black, accompanied with a faint purple outline surrounding its sharpened edges and tip. Each swing with it causes a faint, yet still noticeable whispering from its edge, reminiscent of someone ‘praying.’ Ability: At the cost of 500 reiatsu, Kyuketsu can endow his blade with a curse, first needing to cut the victim with his zanpakutou to let the sword get a feel for the opponent’s spiritual pressure. Each subsequent wound after that (caused by the sword, of course), the victim’s spiritual composition is jammed by Zansatsu, thus causing additional pain of greater extremes than that caused by just a normal sword-based injury alone. : Ability: Imbuing his blade with a charge of pure and concentrated reiatsu, Kyuketsu can fire a streak of energy towards opponents causing damage equivalent to the cost of 5% of his maximum reiatsu. Growing a meter every 1,000 Connection achieved, it maxes its distance at 15 meters. The width of the blast constantly remains at a maximum of 5 feet, retaining its condensed form to do the most damage to the victim. It can either be thrown as a plain beam of energy or that of a crescent-shaped projectile. Bankai: Zantetsuken Shiryou Zansatsu :Form: Though his sword retains its shikai appearance, a semi-transparent aura of purple bathes around Kyuketsu’s entire body, forming a giant arm of sorts that encompass his entire right arm from shoulder to hand. Floating just a few inches away from the right arm is a slightly exaggerated version of a samurai armor’s sode (shoulder armor), kote (sleeve armor), and tekko (hand guard) placed on their respective areas while coated with a grand black paint. The purple aura continues over the shinigami’s body as it seemingly drapes over his form. Aside from the armguard, the most prominent of the release’s appearance is the set of angel wings on Kyuketsu’s back which are seemingly made up of the same aura that wraps around his body. They move accordingly to his will and even break off feathers if the reaper moves in a hurry. Attack: Like in his shikai, this move has the ability to jam an opponent’s spiritual composition once the blade lands an injury on their body. Though unlike its predecessor, the amount of pain caused by this malevolent attack is amplified to more monstrous degrees, surpassing that of its shikai’s effects. Again, Kyuketsu must first land a cut on the target for the proceeding attacks to have any effects. Torture at its absolute finest, this move requires 1,000 reiatsu to be activated. Attack: Imbuing his blade with a charge of pure and concentrated reiatsu, Kyuketsu can fire a streak of condensed spirit energy towards opponents causing damage depending on how much reiatsu he uses (the amount now ranging from 15% to 25%). Its base distance is 50 feet, and grows by 10 feet after every 1,000 Connection achieved, capping at 35 meters or 150 feet. Its base width starts at 5 feet in circumference and grows by 1 foot after every 2,000 Connection gained, capping at 10. It can be fired as either a straightforward beam or as a crescent-shaped projectile. Attack: Kyuketsu can slash a number of strokes for the cost of 1,000 reiatsu per turn, leaving purple streaks of his cuts’ trails floating in the space where they where originally swung. Once any foreign object comes in contact with one of the streaks, it activates and shatters, causing a cut with the same amount of damage used by Kyuketsu to slash his blade (based entirely on the Zanjutsu stat) along with the appropriate momentum to accompany the slash. In layman’s terms, if you touch the streaks, it was as if Kyuketsu himself had just slashed you at that particular part of your body. Each streak only lasts 3 turns, growing weaker in strength after every turn before eventually disappearing. At 10,000 Connection, he is only able to generate one of the phantom strokes. They grow in number after each thousand surpassed, capping at ten when reached at 20,000 Connection.Since the damage is practically a normal swing from Kyuketsu’s sword suspended in space, it will not be able to cut or break substances the shinigami cannot cut on his own (i.e. certain zanpakutous, certain armors, and other stronger fortified objects). Although if he has already managed to activate the Hakudou Tenshi skill before using Murasakiiro Yuurei, he can choose to add 2,000 reiatsu to the cost to allow its effects on the manifested streaks as well. Kyuketsu must wait a whole turn before using the move once again. Unique Feats Asura As a method of conserving energy while still doing as much collateral damage as he possibly can, Kyuketsu is able to retain the destructive power of his sword’s ability, ‘Sesshou,’ (and its Ban Kai equivalent) into his blade rather than firing it as to greatly augment each swing. By paying the original cost of the attack plus an additional 25%, the swordsman can imbue the beam onto his zanpakutou for a maximum of three turns, in which it continually weakens with time until it completely dissolves. On the first and second turns passed, its power weakens by 30%; by the third and final turn, its remaining 40% dissolves completely. At any point within the three turns, Kyuketsu can choose to fire the trapped energy from his sword, albeit its strength would be analogous to the amount of time spent infused over the weapon. Trivia While purely right-handed, Kyuketsu prefers to use his left most of the time as to 'control' the strength of his swings. Gallery